Site:
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan: ten miles by collective
taxi or auto from Acayucan, south of Veracruz
Location: 19*26.60' N, 99*5.60' W Near
Coatzalcolcos and Acayucan
Culture: Olmec
Area: Spread over three small villages along the
river estuary, 1200 acres
Date: Occupied from 1500 to 400 BC Peak
occupation 1200BC - 900BC
Construction: artificial earthen plateaus and mounds
Population: 15,000
Museum: Small, with single stone Olmec sculptured
head, other sculptures.
Fee:
Hours: Museum 8:AM to 3: PM
Notable Features:
Archaeological features will escape all but the
trained eye. The museum, however, is worth the
visit for devotees of the Olmec.
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan: ten miles by collective
taxi or auto from Acayucan, south of Veracruz
Location: 19*26.60' N, 99*5.60' W Near
Coatzalcolcos and Acayucan
Culture: Olmec
Area: Spread over three small villages along the
river estuary, 1200 acres
Date: Occupied from 1500 to 400 BC Peak
occupation 1200BC - 900BC
Construction: artificial earthen plateaus and mounds
Population: 15,000
Museum: Small, with single stone Olmec sculptured
head, other sculptures.
Fee:
Hours: Museum 8:AM to 3: PM
Notable Features:
Archaeological features will escape all but the
trained eye. The museum, however, is worth the
visit for devotees of the Olmec.
First excavated by Archaeologist Mathew Stirling in 1941 and later by
Archaeologists Michael Coe and Richard Diehl in 1967, the site as
mapped by the Coe expedition shows artificial enlargement of
plateaus to 150 feet in height on which the Olmecs built their
settlement on the Coatzacoalcos River drainage system.
An extensive system of basalt tiles, some of which are in the small
museum at the site, show engineering prowess by the inhabitants of
the Olmec city and have been proposed as aqueducts for carrying
potable water.
At San Lorenzo excavators found ten Colossal heads sculpted from
20- ton blocks of basalt that had been hauled 60 miles from the
Tuxtla mountains to the site which at the time was an Island in the
Coatzacoalcos River. Head # 1 of 17 so far found and numbered in
the order of discovery, is at the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa,
(Jalapa) the capitol of Veracruz State.
Unusual black stones with holes that could be fishing net weights
have puzzled researcher and visitor alike. One theory proposed is
that they are iron ore devices used to generate sound, others have
them as fishing weights.
Archaeological features are not evident, the museum, however, is
worth the visit for devotees of the Olmec.
Archaeologists Michael Coe and Richard Diehl in 1967, the site as
mapped by the Coe expedition shows artificial enlargement of
plateaus to 150 feet in height on which the Olmecs built their
settlement on the Coatzacoalcos River drainage system.
An extensive system of basalt tiles, some of which are in the small
museum at the site, show engineering prowess by the inhabitants of
the Olmec city and have been proposed as aqueducts for carrying
potable water.
At San Lorenzo excavators found ten Colossal heads sculpted from
20- ton blocks of basalt that had been hauled 60 miles from the
Tuxtla mountains to the site which at the time was an Island in the
Coatzacoalcos River. Head # 1 of 17 so far found and numbered in
the order of discovery, is at the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa,
(Jalapa) the capitol of Veracruz State.
Unusual black stones with holes that could be fishing net weights
have puzzled researcher and visitor alike. One theory proposed is
that they are iron ore devices used to generate sound, others have
them as fishing weights.
Archaeological features are not evident, the museum, however, is
worth the visit for devotees of the Olmec.
Sculptures found at the san Lorezo and La Venta sites have been moved to the La Venta Museum in Villa
Hermosa and the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa.
Hermosa and the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa.
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| San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan Olmec Homeland Veracruz |